Your child’s teeth are vital to the creation of a lifetime of healthy smiles. As a parent, you need to help protect their teeth and gums for the future. So, what foods cause tooth decay in children?

Even when you teach your kids to brush their teeth twice daily and floss before bedtime, plenty of eating and snacking happens in between. To make sure that their oral health is in tip-top shape, you must give them a menu that is healthy for their teeth and body. Also, you should know what foods cause tooth decay in children.

To prevent tooth decay, here are some of the foods that must be avoided, along with teeth-saving tactics.

Cracker Snacks May Cause Cavities

There are better snack selections than classic crackers when it comes to ensuring good oral health in children. From potato chips to bagel chips, goldfish to grahams, most snacks turn into sugar on your kids’ teeth, which increases cavity risks.

You need to give your children snacks that will not attack teeth. These include whole grain crackers and whole-grain pretzels without added sugar. You can also add a side of cheese as this helps clean bacteria off your kids’ teeth.

Fruit Snacks Also Cause Tooth Decay

Children are also fans of fruit snacks and other sticky treats. Sticky foods are quite easier to cling onto and in between teeth. Giving your little ones a box of fruit snacks may put a beautiful smile on their faces now but can wreak havoc on their smiles in the future.

As subs for sticky sweets, you can give your children luscious grapes, juicy melons, succulent strawberries, and mouth-watering mangoes. For a sweeter treat, go for a little chocolate or ice cream because these are better choices than dried, sticky fruits.

Juice in a Sippy Cup Lease To Tooth Decay

Serving juice sippy cup-style is a good recipe for cavities. Since most sippies will release liquids slowly, there is more time for that sugary drink to pool in your kids’ mouth. And this will give the bacteria enough time to break down tooth enamel, thus triggering tooth decay.

So dentists recommended diluting the juice with water when serving it up. As much as possible you must only serve 4-6 ounces per day. Also, serve it with snacks and meals to prevent tooth enamel wear and tear. If not, swap the sippy cup for a cup with a straw. A straw will send the liquid on the fast track to being swallowed instead of encouraging it to pool in the mouth. This further means that the teeth will be bypassed and protected.

There are plenty of foods that cause tooth decay in children, not only candies. Nutritious meals are tooth-friendly, while a diet heavy in refined carbs and sweets isn’t. Starches and sugars are food to bacteria that produce tooth-eroding acid baths that will harm those pearly whites. The frequency with which these foods are eaten, and the time they remain as debris and particles in the mouth, are important factors as well.

If your children love to eat sweets, a reputable Sterling Heights dentist recommends paying regular visits to the dental office. This way, any dental problem can be detected and treated early on to prevent extensive treatment like tooth extractions.

Here are some other great dental blog posts that may help you with dental care for your children.